At 2pm on October 17th, as the autumn sunlight lit up the afternoon sky, more than 20 international exchange students from the Shanghai University of Finance traveled to Beiyaowan to host an afternoon of activities for the children.
At 2pm, the activities officially started when the volunteers introduced their names and country of origin to the children. The children were very excited to make friends with people from so many different countries. After the introductions, the volunteers began to get to know the children better.
After introductions, they started by playing the children’s favorite game: musical chairs! The children and volunteers all circled the group of chairs as the music played, but when the music stopped they all rushed to find an empty seat. The last person unable to find an open seat was eliminated. In the end, a young girl from Beiyaowan was crowned champion.
After a short break, the second game started. The second game was more intense than the first game. The game was called step on the balloon and each team member had four balloons strapped to their feet. When the game started a volunteer went around and tried to pop all of the balloons. The teams were divided into girls and boys and each team had to protect its balloons. In the end a boys team won the hotly contested game.
After two intense games, the children were tired and sweating a lot. The group decided to take a break and the volunteers had them all sit in a circle. The volunteers then handed out snacks and milk while the children sang songs. The volunteers then asked the children what they wanted to be when they grew up. One child said, “I want to be an astronaut,” while another student said, “I want to be president!”
After the break, the children all sat at their desks and painted a small painting. After they were done painting they went over their works of art with the volunteers.
After painting, the children played one of their favorite games: the wolf chases the small chicken. The game was fun and exhausting for the children. The children were having such a good time. Eventually the activities had to come to an end and the volunteers began to get ready to say goodbye. Before saying goodbye, the volunteers handed out small gifts to each child. The children gather together and said a big “thank you” to the volunteers. Everyone then posed for photos to remember the great day.

On the morning of September 26th, 2015, the once a year Beiyaowan Mid-Autumn festival activities were about to begin. Today’s activity was focused on letting the children create their very own moon cakes. As soon as the children heard they were making moon cakes they got really excited. Several children got to Beiyaowan extra early to help volunteers prepare the space and to also draw Mid Autumn festival pictures on the blackboards in the classroom.
At exactly 10am, the event officially started. The children all sat quietly and patiently as they listened to the teachers explain the day’s exciting activities.
Each child had a little box that they could use to store their moon cakes and use to bring home to share the delicious treats with their family. The first thing the children did was to write their name on a piece of paper that went on the box so they knew which one was theirs.
After that, the teachers carefully showed the children how to make a moon cake. The children all attentively watched the teacher’s demonstration for fear of missing an important step in how to make a moon cake.
Once the teacher was done with her demonstration, it was time for the children to start making their own moon cakes! The children could not wait to get started. Through the process, not only did the children learn how to make moon cakes, but they also learned how to help each other. The older children did a great job helping the younger children learn how to make a great moon cake.
Unfortunately the activity had to come to an end. The children had done a great job making their moon cakes and showed off their boxes full of fresh and delicious treats.
Finally, the volunteers gave the children small gifts to go along with their moon cakes. Everyone gathered outside to take a group picture to commemorate the great event. Thanks to Effie, teacher Taozi and all the volunteers for making the event so special!!